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Topeka Mayor’s Advice for Eric

Adams: Learn Humility
New York’s mayor said that God chose him to lead the nation’s
largest city, and not someplace like Topeka, Kan. The mayor of
Topeka was not amused.

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Mike Padilla, the mayor of Topeka, Kan., left, suggested that Mayor Eric Adams of
New York City, right, should try not to “diminish our great city.” Evert Nelson/The
Topeka Capital-Journal, via USA Today Network; Caitlin Ochs for The New York Times

By Dana Rubinstein

March 1, 2023

Mayor Eric Adams, like many New Yorkers, believes that his city is
the center of the universe, and he also thinks that there was a God-
iven reason he was chosen to lead it — and not some random
Podunk town.

To make his point, Mr. Adams on Tuesday mentioned a particular

place: Topeka, Kan.

“God said, ‘I’m going to take the most broken person and I’m going
to elevate him to the place of being the mayor of the most powerful
city on the globe,’” Mr. Adams said. “He could have made me the
mayor of Topeka, Kansas. He could have made me the mayor of
some small town or village somewhere.”

Topeka’s mayor was not impressed.

A day after Mr. Adams made his comments, Michael Padilla, the
mayor of Topeka, a city with a population of 126,587 , returned The
New York Times’s request for a response, characterizing Mr.
Adams’s comments as “concerning and unprofessional.”

“He could make his points without trying to diminish our great city,
and I wish he would,” Mr. Padilla said on Wednesday. “As Topeka’s
mayor, and as a lifelong member of this community, I am so proud
of who we are, and what we stand for.”

A spokesman for the mayor, Fabien Levy, said on Wednesday night

that the mayor had not intended to insult Topeka and had not done
so. “All he stated was that he was mayor of the greatest city in the
world,” Mr. Levy said. “That remains true, but Topeka is a great
place that the mayor hopes to visit one day.”

As Mr. Padilla noted in his statement, this was not the first time Mr.
Adams had used Kansas as a foil.

During a September news briefing about recent visits to Puerto

Rico and the Dominican Republic, Mr. Adams argued that one of
New York City’s virtues was that it has a brand name, unlike
Kansas.

“Kansas doesn’t have a brand,” he said at the time. “When you go

there, OK, you’re from Kansas. No. Ah, well, you know what? But
New York has a brand. It has a brand and that brand means
diversity. That brand means we care. That brand means that we
are compassionate.”

The comment made headlines in Kansas , known as the Sunflower

State, where political leaders rose in their state’s defense.

Gov. Laura Kelly of Kansas — perhaps not aware that Mr. Adams
professes to follow a plant-based diet — even had some of her
family members personally deliver a gift basket containing Kansas
steak to Gracie Mansion, the New York mayor’s official residence,
she said in an October interview.

“We appreciate Governor Kelly reaching out,” Mr. Levy said at the
time. “Our teams are working to set up a time for a call between
her and Mayor Adams and hope to schedule that soon. We also
appreciate the Kansas delicacies sent to Gracie Mansion, although
the steaks will obviously have to be donated.”

Mayor Padilla on Wednesday trumpeted his city’s role as the

“birthplace of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case that
outlawed segregation in America’s public schools,” and he offered
the mayor some advice.

“One of the best lessons I’ve learned in my tenure as mayor is the

value of humility,” Mr. Padilla said. “I’ve personally visited New
York City on numerous occasions, and have always spoken highly
of New Yorkers — never stooping to assumptions or stereotypes.
I’d invite the mayor of New York to get to know our beautiful city
and its people before casting judgment on a community he seems
to know little about.”

Katie Glueck and Ed Shanahan contributed reporting.

Dana Rubinstein is a reporter on the Metro desk covering New York City politics. Before
joining The Times in 2020, she spent nine years at the publication now known as Politico
New York. @ danarubinstein

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Explore Our Coverage of the Adams Administration

Inthe second year of Mayor Eric Adams’s term, New York City confronts challenges
on several fronts.

Mental Illness: In an effort to address one of New York City’s greatest challenges
as the city recovers from the pandemic, Mayor Eric Adams announced a mental
health agenda that expands key services for people with severe mental illness.
Covid Vaccine Mandate: New York City ended its aggressive but contentious
coronavirus vaccine mandate for municipal workers , signaling a key moment in
the city’s long battle against the pandemic.
Separating Church and State : Speaking at an interfaith event, Mr. Adams
dismissed the idea of separating church and state . He also suggested that
banning organized public school prayer was a mistake.
Migrant Crisis : New York officials, who once condemned Texas leaders for busing
migrants from the southern border, calling the treatment inhumane, are buying
bus tickets for newcomers who want to seek asylum in Canada .

Public Realm Czar: New York is getting its first-ever chief public realm officer —
a role that was created by Mr. Adams to improve how the city uses and manages
its public spaces, including parks, plazas and streets.

War on Rats: Mr. Adams’s zealous efforts to overturn two rat-related summonses
targeting his Brooklyn rental property ended with a split decision , as a judge
upheld one of them and ordered him to pay a $300 fine.

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